248 



DODGE, MARY ABBY. 



gan (where 95 students were enrolled in the past, its 

 third year), California, and Virginia; and it was 

 represented that the Universities of Colorado, Kan- 

 sas, Oregon, and Georgia had invited the establish- 

 ment of similar chairs. The board directed that 

 measures be taken at once for establishing them. 

 Reports were made of the progress of the Junior 

 and Children's Mission Boards. 



DODGE, MARY ABBY ("Gail Hamilton"), au- 

 thor, horn in Hamilton, Mass., in 1833 ; died there 

 Aug. 17, 1896. Her first occupation was teaching. 

 In 1851 she taught in the high school in Hartford, 

 Conn., and later in Washington in the family of Dr. 

 Gamaliel Bailey, editor of the " National Era." Miss 

 Dodge contributed to this paper, and was for a while 

 a member of its staff. She was one of the editors 

 of a Boston children's magazine, " Our Young 

 Folks," from 1865 to 1867. In 1862 she published 

 her first book, and from that time until 1876 every 

 year, excepting 1869, brought one or two volumes 

 from her pen. The earlier works, in the order of 

 their appearance, are : " Country Living and Coun- 

 try Thinking," "Gala Days," "A New Atmosphere," 

 "Stumbling Blocks," "Skirmishes and Sketches." 

 "Red-Letter Days in Applethorpe," "Summer 

 Rest," " Wool-Gathering," " Woman's Wrongs : A 

 Counter-irritant " (which was written in answer to a 

 series of articles by the Rev. John Todd on " Wom- 

 an's Rights "), " A Battle of the Books," " Woman's 

 Worth and Worthlessness," "Little-Folk Life,'' 



tern," in 1881 " Divine Guidance : A Memorial of 

 Allen W. Dodge," in 1885 " The Insuppressible 

 Book," and in 1896 " X Rays. The last work she 

 undertook was a life of Mr. Blaine, who bequeathed 

 to her all his papers. The work is considered her 

 best, but her last illness and death prevented her 

 from quite completing it, and Mrs. Harriet Prescott 

 Spofford did what little work was necessary to fin- 

 ish the last chapter. 



Miss Dodge, though an outspoken opponent of 

 woman suffrage, was very positive in her ideas of 

 the powers and duties of women. In her " Country 

 Living and Country Thinking " she says : " I do 

 not blame men for not understanding women. It 

 is, perhaps, not in the nature of things. Two organ- 

 isms so delicate, yet so distinct so often parallel, 

 yet so entirely integral can, perhaps, never be 

 thoroughly understood objectively. But I do 

 blame them for obstinately persisting in the belief 

 that they do when they don't, Instead of going 

 quietly on their way and letting us go quietly on 

 ours, giving and receiving help when it is needed, 

 and standing kindly aloof when it is not, they are 

 continually projecting themselves into our sphere, 

 putting their officious shoulders to our wheels, pok- 

 ing their prurient fingers into our pies. They seem 

 to have no idea that there is any corner of our 

 hearts so hidden that their half-penny tallow can- 

 dles can not illuminate it. and at the first symptom 

 of doubt the tallow candles are accordingly pro- 



FACSIMILE OF MISS DODGE S MANUSCRIPT. 



" The Child World," " Twelve Miles from a Lemon," 

 "Nursery Noonings," "Sermons to the Clergy," a 

 novel entitled " First Love is Best," and " What 

 think ye of Christ? " Miss Dodge was a cousin of 

 Mrs. James G. Blaine, and was a great help to her 

 in the many social duties of official life, and she 

 also assisted Mr. Blaine with her large knowledge 

 of public affairs and her ability to write. Her pres- 

 ence made the Blaine homestead a literary center. 

 and her brilliant mind was enthusiastically spoken 

 of by those who visited there. During one season 

 Miss Dodge organized a class of bright people who 

 were especially interested in studying the Bible. 

 Her idea was that they all study and discuss to- 

 gether ; but her own superior perception and learn- 

 ing induced the members to urge that she teach 

 the class, and at their solicitation the papers she 

 had presented were published in a volume entitled 

 "A Washington Bible Class" (1891). Miss Dodge 

 took an active interest in all that concerns women, 

 and had an especial fondness for children. She is 

 said to have known as much of public affairs as al- 

 most any statesman. She worked vigorously for 

 the release of Mrs. Maybrick from Woking Prison, 

 England. Miss Dodge frequently contributed to 

 the magazines, always under her pen name of 

 " Gail Hamilton." In 1877 she contributed to the 

 New York " Tribune " a series of strongly written 

 letters on civil-service reform. In 1880 she pub- 

 lished a volume entitled " Our Common-School Sys- 



duced. Assuming that they are entirely conver- 

 sant with woman's nature, conscious with all their 

 stolidity that there is friction somewhere, and per- 

 fectly confident that they can tinker us up ' as 

 good as new.' with the best of motives and the 

 clumsiest of hands, they begin forthwith to ham- 

 mer away, right and left, on the delicate wheels 

 and springs till we are forced to cry out : ' Dear 

 souls, we know you are good and honest and sin- 

 cere. You would die for us; but your fingers are 

 all thumbs. Let us alone!' Do you think they 

 will ? Not they." 



During the civil war she wrote: "Emancipation 

 is the touchstone of this nation. By this sign shall 

 it be known whether we work the works of God or 

 of the devil. The Government that we are fighting 

 to uphold is not the old hulk, dismantled, water- 

 logged, rolling, helpless, becalmed, on slavery's dead 

 Sea of Sargasso, but a new, strong, oaken-ribbed, 

 ironclad man-of-war, with her steam up. her port- 

 holes open, her banner streaming, bearing down 

 with her whole fire and force and speed and 

 strength upon that mystery of iniquity ; and her 

 sealed orders are to loose the bonds of the op- 

 pressor and to let the oppressed go free." 



Her earlier books had an immediate success and 

 a wide circulation. Her later writings, though 

 much more able, were on heavier themes and had 

 not so great popularity. We believe no portrait 

 ever has been published. 



